Top Special Needs Parenting Book Reviews

Author interviews and book reviews of the top recommendations for the best books for parents of children with special needs or disabilities.

Parenting a child with special needs or a disability is a challenge that few can imagine. These are the best books for guidance and understanding of life with a child with special needs.These heart-warming and helpful books provide insight into the lives of special needs families.

Differently Wired Differently Wired - Raising an Exceptional Child in a Conventional World
by Deborah Reber

Encouragement for parents raising a child with special needs, with emphasis on children who have "invisible" but obvious disabilities such as autism, ADHD, learning disabilities, sensory integration, etc. Her book focuses on parenting children and getting support, including from yourself, in this difficult task. She encourages parents to reframe how they look at their children and their differences, which can result in a tremendous change in your parenting. She also provides helpful suggestions on advocating for your child.
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Chicken Soup for the Soul: Children with Special Needs: Stories of Love and Understanding for Those Who Care for Children with Disabilities
By Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Heather McNamara, and Karen Simmons

This collection of personal stories from the sublime to the heartwarming makes a wonderful gift for anyone who has been touched by a child with special needs. Real life vignettes are clustered under topics from community, milestones, breaking barriers, gratitude and fostering independence. These sweet stories exemplify the struggles, fears, battles, and celebrations of life with a child with special needs, including mental retardation, autism, sensory integration, cystic fibrosis, and many other disabilities.
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Off the FenceOff the Fence: Disability Advocacy
By Pat Linkhorn
Pat Linkhorn is a professional advocate for families with children who have special needs. She is also experienced parent and has two girls with special needs - autism and blindness due to prematurity. This wonderful little book takes you to the intersection of a parent and a professional advocate who has struggled with the education system to get children the support they need in school. Its a very personal story full of insight into the actual working of the special education system.
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love you to pieces Love You to Pieces: Creative Writers on Raising a Child with Special Needs
By Suzanne Kamata

A thought-provoking and emotional literary journey through the voices of their parents into the lives of families of children with serious disabilities. This professional edited collection of short stories and poems provides a glimpse into the struggles of living with long term disabilities that are rarely visible to the "normal" world. The breadth and intensity of this collection will take your breath away while captivating your interest. These creative writers will bring you into another world.
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Battle Cries Battle Cries: Justice for Kids with Special Needs
by Miriam Edelson

A comprehensive and thoughtful analysis of the serious, lifelong difficulties facing families of children with severe disabilities, with emphasis on interaction and support within their communities. These struggles (and joys) are given human face through detailed interviews with eight Canadian families who have children with severe disabilities, including Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, Trisomy 18, deafness, CMV, and brain damage related to oxygen deprivation. In sum, Battle Cries is an excellent resource for policy makers, professionals working with special needs children, and parents of children with special needs.
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When Your Child Has a DisabilityWhen Your Child Has a Disability
By Mark L. Batshaw, M.D.

If you are the parent of a child who has multiple special needs or are looking for a scholarly and readable introduction to children's disabilities, then When Your Child Has a Disability is a "must read" resource. Relevant and reliable, it is the most comprehensive overview for parents of special needs of children that has been published to date.
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Parenting Children with Health Issues

Parenting Children with Health Issues: Essential Tools, Tips and Tactics for Raising Kids with Chronic Illness, Medical Conditions and Other Special Needs
by Foster Cline, M.D. and Lisa C. Greene

A positive book on helping your child who has health issues or special needs. Provides lots of useful advice for parents of special needs children. .
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Dream New DreamsYou Will Dream New Dreams: Inspiring Personal Stories by Parents of Children With Disabilities
by Kim Schive and Stanley D. Klein (Editors)

A touching collection of stories and writings from parents of children who have special needs. The disabilities confronted include cerebral palsy, autism, Down Syndrome, mental retardation, illnesses, and more.
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Special Chldren Special Children, Challenged Parents : The Struggles and Rewards of Raising a Child With a Disability
By Robert A. Naseef

A traveler's guide to the emotional journey of parenting a child with special needs. This is a terrific book, which melds personal insight with psychological theory on coming to terms with your child's disabilities and caring for their special needs.
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The Parent to Parent Handbook The Parent to Parent Handbook, Connecting Families of Children with Special Needs
By Betsy Santelli, Florene Stewart Poyadue and Jane Leora Young

Every parent support group, and every person starting a local parent support group, will find that they refer to this book over and over. Written with compassion and experience, it would be hard to find a better guide for your journey - both personal and as an organization.
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Living in My Skin, An Insider's View of Life with a Special Needs Child
By Lori Hickman

Parents of children with a variety of disabilities speak about their lives with searing honesty... A very engrossing book, with an exceptional introduction. I recommend this book to anyone seeking to understand special needs families.
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Bonding while learningBonding While Learning: Activities to Grow Your Relationship While Preparing for Reading Success
By Grace May Chiu

Provides practical activities to share with toddlers and preschoolers to encourage speech, early reading, and interactive communication.
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